As part of World Mental Health Day a police officer has come forward to share his own battle with mental illness.

Devon and Cornwall Police health and wellbeing support officer Regie Butler told Cornwall Live that he was 'embarrassed' to admit that he was suffering from depression – something that almost cost him his life.

Regie has bravely spoken out about his own battle with mental health, to help raise awareness and encourage others to seek the help that they need.

Now a Blue Light Champion, helping officers across the force, it was only a few years ago that Regie was at breaking point. He said that it had reached the point where he was “having suicidal thoughts”, and he didn’t know where to turn.

Regie said: “It all started back in the mid 1990s, I had been in the police force for a couple of years then. There was a lot going on in my personal life at the time, I had had a marriage break down and I wasn’t coping. I ended up having a nervous break-down that ended with me sat on Dartmoor wanting to take my own life.

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“Luckily I didn’t, I made a call, I was taken into hospital, released the next day and then went back to my parents.”

But that was just the beginning of a battle that would affect Regie’s life for years to come.

After being sent back to his parent’s home, Regie said that there was an air of embarrassment around his break-down and “people didn’t want to talk” about what had happened.

Just days after the traumatic incident that had pushed him to the edge, Regie was back at work with the police force.

“The forces reaction was very typical for the time,” he said.

Police sergeant Regie Butler said that he was embarrassed to speak out (Image: Sally Adams)

“I had a sergeant come round who basically just asked if I was OK, I said ‘yes’ so he said, ‘OK I’ll see you back at work then’.

“That was it and I was back at work by Friday. It was quite hard after that, people didn’t want to talk about it. I just got on with everything.

“It was like an embarrassing episode that you just don’t ever talk about.”

While Regie started to get back to day to day life, he suffered another episode a few years later that sent him in a downwards spiral.

He added: “In 2012 or 2013 there were a handful of issues at work that blew up, I started to go off the rails again. I started to realise that I was having suicidal thoughts again, that I couldn’t cope at work and I was very highly stressed.

“I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it. It was a vicious circle, like being in a washing machine and I couldn’t get out.”

It wasn’t until Regie read an article on depression that he realised what he had been feeling matched to the symptoms described.

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Regie said: “All of a sudden I was reading something, and I can’t remember what it was in, but it was about depression. I was reading through all the symptoms and it clicked, the symptoms all described exactly what I was going through.

“I didn’t want to go to the doctors, so I started to do my own research online. On MIND I found a lot of information about what people with depression could do to help themselves.

“It was the little things, I realised I had become introverted. On my days off from work I would go home and just sit in front of the TV. I realised that it had been over a year since I had gone out on my bike. It was something that I used to do a lot, but I had just lost interest. You don’t realise that you are losing interest in anything, it just happens.

“I had lost interest, I had lost enthusiasm and motivation, I had no drive to do anything.”

Regie realised that things needed to change.

The Police Sergeant is now championing mental health in the police force

He bravely set out making his own goals and challenges for each day to help him to get back to a better state of mind.

“I started to set myself targets – to just do one small thing every day,” he said.

“To do the ironing or the washing or ride my bike. It helped give me a goal to work towards, to get out and to build up connections.

“That’s how I got my life back on track and how I got involved with the Blue Light campaign.”

While small targets, will power and determination worked for Regie, it doesn’t work for everyone. There are many other ways to receive the help and support that you need if you believe you are suffering from depression.

The best thing to do is always to speak out, and talk to your GP.

After getting himself back on track, Regie decided that he wanted to help others, that he wanted to stop mental health being a taboo subject and to start the conversation.

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He said: “There was a peer support network that had been set up. Other members of staff had taken a training course to become trained listeners. I decided to sign up and the training alone gave me a much bigger impact over my own mental health.

“I decided to build on that to help support other people, and now I am the Health and Wellbeing Support Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police.

“It’s not a job I ever thought I would do. In 22 years I have always been a front-line officer, but when this position came up a few people told me I should have a look at it, I applied and now I have been doing it for a year.

“It’s very enjoyable and hopefully it helps other people too. From the feedback we get, I think it has had a huge impact. It’s about having someone talk from the heart, really listen and tell you that it’s normal, it’s that reassurance that you’re not the only one.

“Access to information is really important as well, so that you can read through what’s happening, why, what the symptoms are and things that can help. It just helps you to understand it all.